NTSB Factual Report

On December 10, 2018, at 1450 eastern standard time, a Smith Aerostar 601 airplane, N7529S, collided with the terrain shortly after taking off from the Miami Executive Airport (TMB), Miami, Florida. The pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operating on a flight plan. The flight originated from TMB just prior to the accident.

An employee of the flight school where the airplane was tied-down, stated the pilot arrived at the flight school about 1000 and began to preflight the airplane. About 1030 he stated that he needed fuel and he fueled the airplane himself adding 105.2 gallons of 100LL. It is unknown how much fuel was put in each of the three fuel tanks. Shortly thereafter, the pilot taxied the airplane to the ramp in front of the flight school hangar. The pilot kept a tool box in the hangar, and the employee stated the pilot was working on the airplane when he noticed fuel leaking from under the airplane. The employee stated that the pilot made a comment that he should have fixed that before he fueled the airplane. Both the employee and another witness stated that fuel was leaking from the aft fuselage belly area. They stated the pilot had several 5-gallon orange buckets under the airplane to catch the fuel. Neither witness saw how much fuel was in the buckets or what the pilot did with the fuel. The following day it was noted that there was a 12 ft by 16 ft stain on the asphalt ramp where the airplane had been parking. One of the witnesses stated that the stain was from the fuel that was leaking out of the airplane.

A video camera at the airport was reviewed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector. The video showed the airplane in front of the hangar at 1135. The pilot was seen walking back and forth from the airplane into the hangar where his toolbox was stored. At 1324 the airplane was pushed back from the hangar. At 1331, the airplane was started, and it was taxied out at 1400.

According to air traffic control, the pilot initiated a takeoff on runway 31 at 1428. The airplane became airborne and for some unknown reason, the pilot aborted the takeoff, landing the airplane back on the runway. The airplane was taxied back to the approach end of runway 31 and a second takeoff was made. Witnesses in an airplane waiting to takeoff on runway 31 stated they were second in line to takeoff behind the accident airplane. They did not notice anything unusual until they heard a pilot declare an emergency. One of the pilots reported the air traffic controller cleared the pilot to land on any runway, then cleared him to land on runway 9R. They reported the airplane was between 400 ft and 800 ft above the ground and in a left bank, appearing to be turning back toward runway 9R. They stated they thought the pilot was going to make it back to the runway, but then the left bank kept increasing past 90° and the nose suddenly dropped. One of the pilots likened the maneuver to a stall spin/Vmc roll/snap roll type maneuver.

The airplane impacted a corn field about 0.9 miles east of the approach end of runway 9R.